Albert Waller Gilchrist

Oil over photograph, Claribel Jett, ca. 1960

Albert Waller Gilchrist
(1858–1926)

Twentieth governorJanuary 5, 1909 to January 7, 1913

Albert W. Gilchrist was born at Greenwood, S.C.,
on January 15, 1858. He was a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at
West Point and later became a civil engineer, real estate dealer, and orange
grower in Punta Gorda. Gilchrist was a brigadier general of the Florida
militia until 1898, when he volunteered for service in Cuba during the
Spanish-American War. He achieved the rank of captain in the regular army
and was mustered out of national service in 1899.

Gilchrist was a member of the Florida House of Representatives
from 1893 until 1905 and was its speaker in 1905. As governor, Gilchrist
sponsored legislation to safeguard the public health. He died in New York
City on May 15, 1926.